Synopsis
Everything changes in a single moment for Dawn Edelstein. She’s on a plane when the flight attendant makes an announcement: prepare for a crash landing. She braces herself as thoughts flash through her mind. The shocking thing is, the thoughts are not of her husband, but a man she last saw fifteen years ago: Wyatt Armstrong.
Dawn, miraculously, survives the crash, but so do all the doubts that have suddenly been raised. She has led a good life. Back in Boston, there is her husband, Brian, her beloved daughter, and her work as a death doula, where she helps ease the transition between life and death for her clients .
But somewhere in Egypt is Wyatt Armstrong, who works as an archaeologist unearthing ancient burial sites, a job she once studied for, but was forced to abandon when life suddenly intervened. And now, when it seems that fate is offering her second chances, she is not as sure of the choice she once made.
Source: www.jodipicoult.com
My Thoughts
Did it take me time to get into the book-Yes.
Did I thought at times this book was not for me-Yes. Why? Egypt – I have no interest.
Did I realise that all the detail is necessary as with all Jodi’s books-Yes.
Am I still confused with the timelines-Yes.
Did I have heart palpitations and stopped breathing-yes. I absolutely did to a point where I almost did not want to know what happened.
Am I mad that it ended on a cliff hanger-YES! I need to know.
Do I think this was a good book-YES.
Would I recommend it-YES.
I was warned it would take time to get into it, and it did, but I was also told in the same breath that it is a good book. I can wholeheartedly agree; it is a very good book.
I loved Wyatt, Meret, and Win. Dawn is debatable, but I can relate to her in some ways.
I still want to know what happened! I guess I can imagine what happened, but I need confirmation. You know what I mean?
This will also be my first annotated book. Even if it only has 4 notes, it is still 4 notes, and I like it!
I wrote the review before I read the author’s note. I should have waited until after. But after reading the author’s note, The Book of Two Ways and the timelines made so much more sense.
This is really a good book.
I highlighted 4 quotes / phrases / dialogue.
Life asked death, “Why do people love me but hate you?”
Death responded, “Beacause you are a beautiful lie and I am a painful truth.”
– Unknown
What a profound phrase. I stopped reading and just thought about this for a moment. What does it mean for me? I just realised the absolute truth in this. And we do not always want to deal with the truth. True?
All it takes is a brush of a match in the right environment to start an inferno. That is what I think when I taste him, and I am whisked backward through time, to another twin mattress and another stolen moment and the same arms around me.
This scene is so important for the rest of the story that follows. When I read this first sentence, I understood it. Whether it be memories, love, or life, all it takes is one thing—a match, for example—to start something.
Another topic in this book that I really resonated with is body image. I can resonate with this topic so much. Every time this is brought into a story, I immediately feel it and relate to the character even more. Dawn was concerned with how she looked to Wyatt after having Meret, and the way he reassured her was just so endearing.
“Dawn. If it will make you feel beter, I could show you my appendix scar, and where I think I’m going bald, and you could point out your stretch marks and wrinkles. But I’d much rather pay attention to all the bits of you that are glorius.”
Isn’t it just fabulous?
Like most teenagers, Meret also has a body image problem. Even though she is described as being a bigger-built girl and maybe a little bit pudgy, I do not think she is overweight as such. She has trouble with how people see her and sees herself as fat. With this conversation between her and Dawn, I wished someone would have sat me down and said this to me as an early teenager. I am not sure that I would have actually listened, but I am sure it would have stuck somewhere. I want to tell you what happens later in the book, but that would be a spoiler.
“There isn’t only one type of body. Anyone who makes you feel that way is only trying to make themselves feel better by finding someone to pick on. “
As I mentioned, this is the first book I have ever annotated, and I only started in the second part of the book. The beauty of reading is that everyone interprets the story in a different way. We each have our own phrases and quotes that we resonate with. I also want to bring in an element that I saw from a TikToker. She made the statement, ‘How did this book or that part/sentence/phrase/quote make you feel?’
This book made me feel a lot of emotions, but overall, it made me feel content. Obviously, it started up a ‘what if’ question, but it did not linger too long.
This is a solid 4 star for me. If you are not familiar with my rating system, you can check if out here.
On to the next read.
E xx
The Travellingmind 